Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Kia Ga. facility still on track

What may resemble the surface of Mars today will be home to Kia Motors’ state-of-the-art automobile manufacturing plant tomorrow.

January 21, 2007

WEST POINT, Ga. - What may resemble the surface of Mars today will be home to Kia Motors’ state-of-the-art automobile manufacturing plant tomorrow.

A 3,300-acre spread of red Georgia dirt adjacent to Interstate 85 just five miles from the Alabama state line won’t be full of bulldozers or dump trucks for long.

“It will be built before you know it,“ said Alison Tyner, senior communications specialist for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, speaking from her cell phone Friday just minutes after she motored past the site on I-85. “It’s one thing to talk about the plant’s progress, but it’s another thing to actually see it.“

Grading and infrastructure work continues on the $1.2 billion plant, expected to be fully operational by 2009. Since March’s announcement the Korean automaker would build a manufacturing facility in Troup County, Ga., work on the plant has been performed only by local contractors.

“Our piece is to provide water and sewer infrastructure,“ said West Point City Manager Ed Moon, who noted the city’s piece of the pie is an $18 million project by itself. “We have already completed Phase 1 of our water work and we are moving forward. I wouldn’t say that we are ahead of schedule, but I would say that we are on schedule.“

Moon said BRI Construction of Lawrenceville, Ga., awarded Phase 2 of water and sewer construction. Work on this estimated 150-day project has not yet begun, and a start date has not been set. Phase 3 of the city’s portion of the work will consist of a wastewater treatment plant at the site of the city’s existing plant, which was built in 1972.

“Obviously, the (Kia) plant will be a large sewage user,“ Moon said. “The city was already in the process of upgrading its treatment plant.

“We’re just trying to fulfill our obligation to make this project happen.“

Actual construction on the 2 million-square-foot building may not be far away, but remains in the “development stages,“ according to a Kia spokesperson.

The plant will be Kia’s first in the United States, this coming on the heels of the closure of the 60-year-old Ford Motor Co. manufacturing plant in Hapeville.

“It will be state-of-the-art - just like they (Kia) described it to us,“ Tyner said. “It will be modern, with two assembly lines. Aside from other developments, this is really a key acquisition for the state of Georgia. We expect to have a tremendous economic benefit from it, especially in west Georgia.“

The plant will produce an estimated 300,000 vehicles annually. However, specific models of these vehicles have not been named. It will also include an engine plant, paint shop, a 70,000-square-foot, $20.2 million training center, welcome center and third-party contractors.

What does this mean for those seeking jobs? It will employ approximately 2,893 with average salaries of $50,000 annually. This does not include a number of supplier companies that will flock to east Alabama and west Georgia, bringing jobs and economic growth with them. Some of these suppliers figure to locate in Auburn, Opelika or Chambers County.

Motorists along the interstate may soon be affected as the Georgia Department of Transportation will construct a new interchange and access road at a cost of $30 million. Also, a rail spur will connect the plant with lines running from Atlanta and points southward.

The joint project between the state and the international company is encouraging, Tyner said.

“Both the state and Kia are looking for good things to come from this partnership,“ she said. “It’s a partnership that will move the state forward in the automotive world.“